Pignolia Suites - Adults Only — Hotel in Municipality of Ierapetra

To absolutely avoid – the police had to intervene to protect us!

Everything had started out well. This was our third stay in Crete, we come every year and love this island. But how surprised we were to be treated like nobodies.

The staff (excluding management) were lovely, but the manager showed unacceptable rudeness and aggressiveness. Her colleague, the waiter, even went so far as to physically assault my friend.

The situation escalated when a cat, struggling to breathe, was fed and given water by my friend. The waiter suddenly appeared out of nowhere, started shouting, and when my friend tried to take a photo of the small plastic bowl to report the situation, he violently pushed him and snatched his phone out of his hands.

In shock, we asked to speak to the person in charge… who turned out to be just as aggressive. She immediately expelled us, acting on the advice of her lawyer, as if rescuing an animal in distress was a criminal act. Even the police officers, shocked by her comments and those of the waiter, could not believe what they were hearing.

The management also reproached us for a minor incident: cutting a nail in the common areas. The waiter, clearly unbalanced, took the opportunity to make racist remarks, saying that “we were not in France or Italy to do that.” Shocked by this sentence, I immediately apologised for the incident, sorry, but nothing justifies this kind of discriminatory comment.

Does cutting a nail, feeding a cat in distress, and asking for a duvet cover really justify such treatment?

Faced with this hostility, we had to call the police for our protection. The officer, very professional and kind, calmed the situation, reminded the managers that we had paid for our nights, and allowed us to stay for one of them. Despite this, the managers had their dogs barking under our windows that very evening to intimidate us.

And that’s not all: a dirty pool with shards of glass, accommodation in poor condition, no bed sheets because “it was too late to ask for them” according to the waiter… He even told us that “he didn’t care about reviews” because he already had enough positive ones.

Several guests witnessed the scene. Shocked by the seriousness of the events, they expressed their support, took our contact details, and said they were willing to support our complaint to the police as well as share their own testimonies. I suspect the manager was influenced by the waiter, because on the day we left she suddenly became friendly and professional again, or perhaps the police intervention played a role. I hope this will lead them to improve their welcome.

Initially, we did not even intend to leave a review, as we are not used to expressing ourselves in such terms. But they dared to send us an email asking for “feedback.” I don’t know if this was meant as provocation, but it was in extremely poor taste.

⚠️ Advice: do thorough research before booking. We are not an isolated case, several other reviews mention scams and deeply concerning behaviour. This was an absolute nightmare, and I would not wish anyone to go through what we...

Let me start by saying that I was impressed with what they achieved in such a short period. They opened up just before summer so you see they are quite inexperienced and there are some small things that could be better, but they will probably learn. ||And this is mainly the design that is not always practical or comfortable. ||I say it in many reviews, stay for a couple of nights in your own room and you will experience it. ||||But what makes this place 5 star worth? First of all the location which is build on a hill with a very nice view on the mediteranean sea. The combination of the mountains and the sea and knowing that you have a gorgeous beach at 10 minutes walk (downhill! Uphill will take longer ;-) ). But you can also relax at the swimming pool which has also very comfortable sunbeds. ||This accomodation is small scale, 8 appartments, so its intimate and not crowded. Its located on the southeast side of crete about 15 minutes from Lerapetra. So its a very quiet and not very touristic area. (you can skip Lerapetra!). So if you are looking for a sunny and relaxing area than this is the place to go!||||The appartments are very comfortable and very nice design (but not always practical!). The bed is great! As someone who is a feast for mosquitos I love it that all doors and windows have mosquito nets! Its awesome! So you can have a nice breeze throught the appartment the whole day and night and not worry about bugs. There is a small kitchen so you could cook if you want. But with fantastic restaurants less than 15 minutes drive I would not do it. Internet connection is OK, but when the accomodation is fully occupied and someone is streaming then the others dont have connection. So this is something that needs to be improved. ||Ample parking, but quite a steep driveway! ||The downstairs appartments have huge terraces and hot tubs. So you could survice a whole week just at the appartment. ||||The managers are very nice and they do their best. Breakfast is served at the pool or if weather doesnt allow it then it will be delivered to your door. You can order it in the morning. Although its holiday, breakfast from 9 am is too late. Although its very nice and personal I would make it a small buffet where people can make their own basket or take and eat at the pool. Make it yourself easy, you see that they struggle now a bit. ||||I would defenitely recommend it! We had such a lovely stay at the end of our 3 week tour of Crete! Defenitely coming back when on...

This hotel is built on a hill, with a very steep entrance. My rental car did not have a lot of power and had all trouble of the world to ‘climb’ the way upwards. (Small advice: make sure to enter with higher RPM and go for it). I would not recommend going all the way up, but park the car at the first parking level (If you decide to go up all the way to the lobby: the second climb is a very steep one, and there is no space to make a U-turn, hence you need to return backwards). |Apart from that; what a wonderful place to stay: you have a very big apartment style 2-bedroom/2-bathroom place, that also included a small kitchen, dining area and a private porch. Breakfast is served at the top of the hotel, same location as the wonderful pool. |Breakfast is great, and with a lot of choices and freshly made orange juice, fresh croissants, fruit,… and great cappuccino. The pool has a great – mandatory – shower, and a restroom, hence fully equipped to enjoy your time. Oh, I almost forgot, they serve drinks at the pool.|All this service is amazing as there are only 8 or 10 rooms. I really enjoyed this ‘small scale’ facility. You have a lot of privacy, and even in July we were the only ones at breakfast at that time of the day (around 8:30-9:00)|I strongly recommend this place if you are looking for a quiet place to stay. You do need a car to...